Scholars, advocates, and activists seeking to make the U.S. a more responsible global partner.
Middle East & North Africa

Beyond Muscle: Using Financial Leverage for Middle East Peace

by , | Sep 14, 2009

In late August, the U.S. and Israeli governments appeared to have settled on a grand strategy to advance Middle East peace, one that traded a tougher U.S. stance on Iran for freezing Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. But subsequent reports on plans for additional Israeli settlement construction and announcements by Tehran outlining its terms for talks at a September 9th, meeting of the P5+1 (that’s the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany) working group, indicate that the specific details of a bargain are still far from settled.

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The Iranian Opposition

The Iranian Opposition

by , | Aug 27, 2009

On July 22, a week into Iran’s foreign media reporting ban, a group of Iranian protesters gathered on a grassy hill to speak out against Supreme Leader Khamenei’s continued support for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Some wore black T-shirts with a blood-spattered slogan: “Where Is My VOTE?” By midday, the protest had attracted several hundred attendees. One woman arrived wearing little more than a thong swimsuit and a pair of purple angel wings.

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Iran Gas Ban: Step toward War with Iran?

by , | Aug 20, 2009

As the Obama administration struggles to devise a strategy for dealing with Iran’s intransigence on the uranium enrichment issue, it appears to be gravitating toward the imposition of an international embargo on gasoline sales to that country. Such a ban would be enacted if Iranian officials fail to come up with an acceptable negotiating plan by the time the UN General Assembly meets in late September — the deadline given by the White House for a constructive Iranian move.

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Learning from the British in Iraq

by , | Aug 13, 2009

Under the terms of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), President Barack Obama is currently bound to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011. Three factors, however, make it probable that the president will attempt to renegotiate the terms of the agreement as it approaches its conclusion: Iraqi security forces will continue to be logistically dependent on the U.S. military. The United States will be increasingly dependent on oil from Iraq and the wider region. And the American left will be unable to exert significant electoral pressure on the legislative or executive branch, given the U.S. foreign policy establishment’s calculation of the strategic consequences of a complete withdrawal.

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The Bully in Baghdad

by , | Aug 12, 2009

President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki negotiated a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) in November 2008, providing legal authority for U.S. troops to stay in Iraq until 2011. The agreement faced widespread opposition in Iraq, as many Iraqis saw it as legalizing and legitimizing the occupation of their country for another three years.

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Inching toward Compromise in the Middle East

by , | Aug 10, 2009

I was gliding along the Massachusetts Turnpike, enjoying a summer Sunday in the Berkshires, thinking I was on vacation, when I got an urgent cell phone call from a news anchor at one of the nation’s most progressive radio stations. "Will you comment on today’s news from Israel?" he asked.

"What news?" I was on vacation from the world and its problems.
"The Israelis have just announced that they will expand some settlements," he explained breathlessly, with obvious pain in his voice. "They’re just ignoring Obama’s demands completely."

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Book Excerpt, ‘The Will to Resist’

by , | Aug 4, 2009

Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from Dahr Jamail’s The Will To Resist: Soldiers who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan (Haymarket Books). The testimonies below were collected at a national conference, "Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan," held by Iraq Veterans Against the War.

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